If Love Could Kill

The Myths and Truths of Women Who Commit Violence

By: Anna Motz

Narrated by: Anna Motz

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A groundbreaking work by an internationally acclaimed forensic psychotherapist that looks at women who commit extreme acts of violence and cruelty and at the underlying oppression and abuse often at the heart of these crimes

Women can be murderers and child abusers. They can commit acts of extreme and sadistic brutality. And those who do, are outcasts from society and from womanhood itself. They are seen as monsters and angels of death: and must be kept at a safe distance.

Anna Motz is a renowned clinical and forensic psychologist in London and New York. Writing with candor, compassion, and a clear-eyed perspective, she explores in depth the shockingly underexamined psychological underpinnings of female violence. Far from the heartless and inhuman monsters we might believe them to be, these women are often victims of a culture of violence and emotional trauma.

Already hailed as a landmark, Motz's daring book, bursting with humanity, makes clear that women’s violence is more widespread than most realize, that these acts of violence expose deeply held, centuries-old beliefs about women and their value, and that these acts demand to be taken more seriously as a distinctive societal taboo that can—and must—be brought into the light.

©2024 Anna Motz (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"If Love Could Kill is not a boastful record of one success after another. Some patients do remain beyond Motz’s reach. But her successes are moving because they give hope. They show that people can surprise themselves with change.” —Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker

"What makes women break bad? In this rigorous collection of case studies and analysis, forensic psychotherapist Anna Motz argues that violent women are almost always also victims themselves, and moreover, deserving of rehabilitation. With a 30-year career providing talk therapy to incarcerated women, Motz is uniquely positioned to cut through the sensationalism of the crimes (arson, Munchausen syndrome by proxy, murder) to the real people behind them. . . . [I]n Motz’s worldview, no human is beyond hope. An empathetic and necessary corrective to the stereotypes peddled by so many sensational true crime shows." —Natalie Beach, Oprah Daily

“[Anna Motz] challenges society’s preconceptions about violent women and how we should treat them in this thought-provoking and compassionate book. . . . Motz brings empathy and curiosity to her work, which shines through in her writing, as well as a strong belief in the possibility of rehabilitation. . . . Recommended especially to readers of true crime and forensic psychology.” —Rebecca Hopman, Booklist